The field of candidates to fill the 1st District Congressional seat Rep. Tom Allen will leave as he runs against Sen. Susan Collins offers voters clear choices in personalities and philosophies. When voting in the June 10 primary election, district residents would be well served by choosing Democrat Chellie Pingree and Republican Dean Scontras.

The choice of Scontras is not because he is making his first attempt at elected office. Candidates running as outsiders will by nature become insiders when they win. Freshmen representatives going to Washington, D.C., and turning the Capitol upside down to shake loose the fat and corruption in government ended when Jimmy Stewart stopped making movies.

Candidates casting themselves in the Reagan-mold has become as tiresome as hearing them disavow being an insider. But Scontras is right to castigate federal programs and pork created by members of both parties that have swelled government well beyond what Ronald Reagan railed against.

Scontras’ pro-life stance may not play well in the district, and voters might wonder why a candidate in a district with no international borders places such as emphasis on stopping illegal immigration.

But Scontras is right when he wonders how big government can successfully implement a health care program. He is also right to support an option for private investment for Social Security contributions.

Charlie Summers, who opposes Scontras, is an able candidate with experience in business, and state and federal government. His plan for extricating armed forces from Iraq is well considered and based on his experience serving there.

Summers is a good choice, but voters seeking a conservative candidate offering clear distinctions from Democrats will vote for Scontras.

Were it not for her acceptance of contributions from financial hedge fund managers after her years serving as the head of Common Cause, one could say unequivocally that Pingree reinvigorates the faith that government can help the common man.

Pingree should have known better than to accept $50,000 from the kind of lobbyists she spoke out against while leading an organization dedicated to removing the influence of money from politics for four years.

Before accepting the contributions and her work with Common Cause, Pingree fought lobbyists while getting her Maine Rx plan implemented almost a decade ago. In contrast to the federal plan providing “relief” from prescription drug costs, Pingree’s plan allowed state government to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies.

In contrast to the recent boondoggle where the state Department of Health and Human Services spent more than $50 million on a flawed computer program to bill the federal government for Medicaid services, Pingree’s program worked.

Challenged by five other candidates, Pingree has the most demonstrable track record of making government work for people. This comes from her years in the Maine Senate and in advocating government for the people with Common Cause.

Add her experience as a small business owner and Pingree rises above a talented field of former colleagues and articulate neophytes seeking the Democratic nomination. She also provides a direct contrast to philosophies espoused by Dean Scontras meaning 1st District voters will have a clear choice in November.

David Harry, editor